


She Promised She'd Stay

by epjindustries, TitanPenStudios



Series: RWBY Shorts and Stories [1]
Category: RWBY
Genre: F/F, Someone is going to die, Sorry Not Sorry, you guys can hang me later
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-22
Updated: 2020-03-24
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:21:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 17,892
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23268397
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/epjindustries/pseuds/epjindustries, https://archiveofourown.org/users/TitanPenStudios/pseuds/TitanPenStudios
Summary: Ruby Rose made a promise to Weiss Schnee before Team RWBY, Team JNR, Oscar, and Qrow headed out to Atlas: That Team RWBY would never leave her side for a second. Even behind that smile, everyone knew she was serious. And serious she was. So serious that she even made a new promise to Weiss: That she would never leave her side.Who knew that was going to be Ruby's first promise to break?
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long, Ruby Rose/Weiss Schnee
Series: RWBY Shorts and Stories [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1673173
Comments: 4
Kudos: 59





	1. She'd Promised She'd Stay

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! Eli here! I'm the other friend that also runs this profile. It's been a while since we've posted onto here and we want to apologize for it. Times are rough and we're trying so hard to juggle life and school, but that doesn't mean we've forgotten about you all! (well I haven't) SO to make up the lost time and lack of material here, I bring you this small one-shot from RWBY! Yes RWBY. I hope you enjoy! 
> 
> btw this takes place in Season 7 of RWBY so if you have not watched the season or series DO NOT READ, unless you don't really care about being spoiled.

“RUBY!!” The silverette yelled, crawling on the cold hard ground towards her partner who laid a couple of feet ahead.

“I tried to warn her,” The Maiden chuckled, swinging the bright gold lamp on her finger as she watched the girl struggle her way towards her dead partner. “There was no way she was going to beat me again,” 

“Ruby!” She cried, pulling her close and checking for a sign of life. There was just a faint pulse, but she doubted it would last for long with her injuries; cuts and bruises all over her body as well as the stab wound in her chest. It was horrible, she was horrible… 

The small girl next to the maiden that had half pink and brown hair tapped the taller maiden before making crying motions with her hands as she smiled. The taller maiden laughed, clipping the lamp to her belt before speaking. “I know. Who knew the Ice Queen had a heart,”

The Ice Queen did have a heart, however, and that heart belonged to her team, to her partner, to her… 

"Don't worry Ruby…" she whispered, running her thumb on the girl's cheek before placing a small peck. "I won't let you down… I promised to be the best partner you'll ever have, right…?" She smiled, grasping her hand tightly as her tears slowly washed the blood off the other's face. "Cinder may have taken you from me, but she's not taking me away from you…" 

"I'm getting bored of all this sappy stuff," The maiden said, turning to meet her partner in crime. "You wouldn't mind staining your hands with royal blood, right?"

The small partner smirks, twirling the umbrella around her finger as she strutted her way towards the silverette. However, the other had different plans.

"Like that's gonna happen," she hissed, standing up strong, clenching her fists. "She promised she'd stay… she promised she'd stay with me until the end but you made her break that promise!! Now, I'm gonna break you,"

_… A couple of hours before…_

"Thank the Brothers you're okay!" Winter said, running towards her sister and hugging her tightly. 

"Yeah… I guess…” Weiss mumbled, swallowing a lump down her throat. 

After Mantle was cleared from Grimm, an alarm went off at the Atlas Medical facility attached to the Atlas Military and Academy, the same institute that held the winter maiden. Weiss freaked and headed straight towards the hospital to help protect the Winter maiden only to be confronted by her sister, and then Ruby. A shape shifter managed to infiltrate this deep into Atlas? How could that be possible? Didn't matter, not to Weiss. All she needed now was to defend the people of the hospital and defend the winter maiden for Winter. 

Her plan fails, and instead, the building blows up in flames and the winter maiden dies, and the powers don't transfer to who they were supposed to… 

"I'm sorry…" Weiss mumbled, leaning into the hug. "I couldn't…"

"It's… okay," Winter whispered. "Maybe I wasn't destined to be the maiden after all…" 

"... Does Ironwood know?"

"About this? No not yet, but he'll eventually–"

"Weiss!!" Someone screamed from afar. Weiss turned around to see who it was only to get a bunch of rose petals in her face followed by a tight hug. 

_Ruby…_

"Are you okay?!" Ruby asked. "Are you hurt?!" 

Weiss chuckled at the young girl's worried attitude. "I'm perfectly fine, Ruby. Just a little heated, is all,"

"A little?" Yang, who was running behind Ruby, said in disbelief. "you're covered in ash and soot! Like, what is it with you and jumping in head first in fires?"

"At least I don't waste my energy trying to outshine the others, Xiao Long," Weiss replied, motioning to the blonde's partner Blake. "Trying to make sure you're the only kindle to her flame?"

Yang was about to retaliate, but the pink hue that appeared on both of their faces proved the silverette otherwise. _Another point to Weiss Schnee._

"That… was well played, Schnee," Yang admitted.

"Who knew Weiss had it in her," Blake added. "the whole stooping down to Yang's level kind of thing,"

"I know right- wait, stooping down?!"

"Someone had to do it," Weiss said. 

"Hey!"

"Honestly I'm surprised I didn't catch that one," Ruby said. 

"You never do,"

"Are we just going to ignore the insult that was thrown at my face?!" Yang asked.

"Insult? What insult? I thought that was a compliment," Weiss smirked. 

"Real funny Weiss," 

“Anything is a compliment when it comes from Weiss,” Ruby said. “It is rare to receive anything nice from Weiss,”

“What is that supposed to mean?!” The silverette gasped. 

“Well, you are the Ice Queen,” Blake added. “Always cold and harsh when it comes to complimenting others,”

“And I thought we were okay after all we’ve been through!”

“Well you did start this game of insults,” Ruby giggled. 

She sighs. “I suppose I did,”

“Ahem,” Winter coughed, standing next to Weiss. 

“Oh hey Winter!” Ruby said cheerfully. “When did you arrive?”

“She’s been here the entire time, you dolt,” Weiss sighed. 

“We really need to get your eyesight checked out, sis” Yang added.

“Anyway, as much as I like to see more of this heartwarming interaction, I have to take Weiss to briefing,” Winter said, motioning to the armored car behind her.

"Briefing? But don't we usually have briefings in the morning?" Blake asked. 

"Yeah, but we did save Mantle so…" Ruby trailed off.

"But Ironwood didn't say-"

“It's a different type of briefing," Winter interrupted "Weiss is going to a different briefing. It’s… classified,”

“Classified?” Ruby asked.

“Yes, classified. Now if you excuse us,” Winter turned around and motioned to the soldiers guarding the car to start getting ready for departure. "Weiss and I should go before it gets even more late,"

Winter started to make her way towards the car, dragging Weiss behind her. 

"Weiss?" Ruby said, her eyes glazing over her partner somberly. All Weiss could do was smile and wave reassuringly at her teammates, hoping she didn't have to pay for her mistake.

"I'll be back soon, okay?" Weiss said as she opened the door to the car. "I promise," Ruby saw Weiss step into the car and close the door before the window rolled down. "I'll see you guys in a bit,"

The rest of the team waved as the windows slowly rolled up, the car driving away from the rubble that used to be Atlas's best Medical Research Facility. Ruby watched the car ride into the horizon, and even after she couldn't see it anymore, she still stared out into the distance. She knew deep down that Weiss was still looking back at her team.

"Alrighty then!" Yang said cheerfully, breaking the silence between the trio. "Let's head back to the dorms shall we? Cause I'm exhausted!"

"We all are," Blake agreed, groaning as she stretched and cracked her back. "My feet are so sore…"

"I call the shower," Yang continued, making her way back to where the main entrance of the Academy was located. 

"You always call the shower," Blake said, walking with her partner. "And finish all the hot water!"

"What?! No I don't! I leave plenty of hot water! Right, Ruby?" Yang asked, waiting for her energetic sister to reply and back her up, but an answer never came. "Ruby?" Yang stopped in her tracks and looked behind her, noticing her cheerful sister wasn't walking behind them but still standing in place where the Atlas Jeep drove off. She frowns, a feeling in her gut telling her to hug her sister and comfort her in whatever she was feeling, but Ruby was a big girl now, right? She had to let her be, for now. 

"Hey Rubes!" She shouted, snapping the red hooded girl from her thoughts. "You coming or not?"

"Uh, yeah!" Ruby replied, facing in her sister's direction and jogging up to her. 

"You okay?" Blake asked, obviously concerned.

"Yeah I'm fine," She smiled reassuringly. "just lost in thought," 

"You want to talk about it?" Yang asked, pressing her hand against her shoulder. 

"Nah. It's not as important as taking a hot shower before you!" Ruby said before her body was replaced by a bundle of rose petals. 

"Wha- hey!" 

"Told you," Blake giggled, following the small burst of rose petals. 

"Geez… it's not like I have short hair like you guys…" Yang grumbled, walking behind the faunus grumpily. "I at least dedicate an hour to my hair,"

"Stop complaining or I'll tell Ruby to finish the water," 

"You wouldn't dare!" 

"Try me," Blake smirked, taking out her scroll and dialing the familiar number. 

"Blake Belladonna, you- come here!" Yang yelled, charging towards Blake, who easily dodged her with the help of her shadow clones. She laughs and starts running towards the school entrance with the blonde stumbling behind her, having the time of their lives while they still could… 

\-----

Around an hour has passed since Weiss left with Winter to a classified briefing. Ruby stared up at the ceiling, her back leaning against her bed. She let out a deep sigh, a sigh that wasn't her normal bored sigh. It was more heavy with a hint of worry in it. Yang, with her incredible sister sense, picked up the sudden change and decided to investigate inconspicuously.

"What's up with you?" Yang asked, looking at her through the mirror as she combed her hair. 

"Hm? Oh… nothing," Ruby replied. 

"This nothing is something if you're not your cheery self," Blake said, who also sensed the change as she laid down on her bed with her scroll in hand.

"It's just… I'm worried for Weiss,"

Yang looked at Blake through the mirror, who looked at her back with a look of interest. "Weiss? Why are you worried about Weiss?" She asked. 

"She went to a _classified_ briefing," Ruby said.

"And?"

"I went to a classified briefing back at Beacon because I encountered Cinder messing with the CCTS," she continued. "Ozpin, Professor Glynda, and Ironwood were there and… let's just say it was intimidating,"

"And?"

"I- ugh! I don't know how to word it!" She groaned. "but I feel like there's something wrong, like something's not right! I don't know what it is or why I'm feeling this way…"

Yang sensed something tingle in her chest and then to her brain as she set down her comb, still looking at her sister through the mirror before something clicked. "Ohhhh," Yang turned around with a small smirk on her face. Could it be? 

"I don't know if it would make you feel better, but Weiss can take care of herself, Ruby," Blake said with a smirk, also drawing to the same conclusion as her partner in crime. "if something was wrong, Weiss can handle it,"

"Yeah. Weiss is a big girl who can solve big girl problems by herself. She dealt with worse," Yang added. "So stop worrying about your girlfriend,"

She blushes. "She's not my girlfriend Yang!" Ruby screamed. 

"I'm just stating what I see,"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"What Yang is saying is that you two are close," Blake said. 

"Not as close as you two," Ruby said. "But…" she sighs. "Recently though, I feel like we've been… separating with her training with Winter and our new responsibilities as Huntresses… It's like… It's like we're not partners anymore,"

"Ah… I see," Blake said, sitting at the edge of her bunk. "Ruby, Weiss would never not be your partner,"

"As much as she doesn't want to," Yang snickered. 

"Anyway," Blake growled at the blonde, Yang lifting her arms in defense as the Faunus continued. "Remember the old Beacon days? How much Weiss hated you?"

"How could I forget Weiss' complaints toward me and my leadership," Ruby mumbled. 

"But she pulled through, didn't she?" Yang jumped in. "she agreed to be your partner, our teammate, and most important of all, our friend," 

"Our family," Blake added. "Weiss has gone a long way because of you. She wouldn't give you up that easily," 

"Yeah. She wouldn't abandon the family we all know she deserves," Yang got up from her chair and climbed up to Ruby's bunk. "Ruby, you got nothing to worry about. Weiss is fine. Winter would do anything to protect Weiss. I know I would do anything to protect you. And believe me when I say that there's no way we'll let anything happen to our little Ice Queen. That is a promise," 

Yang smiled brightly at her younger sister who smiled back at her with the same love and energy. Ruby pulls her into a small hug, whispering "thank you" into her ear as she receives a "you're welcome" in return.

The door to the room suddenly opened wide, revealing a very tired Weiss at the other side of the doorway. Everyone's attention shifted from the small leader to the short teammate that looked like she was ready to sleep for a week. Yang jumped down from the bed and ran towards the silverette who stumbled back from the sudden movement.

"So?" Yang said eagerly. "What happened?!" 

"What do you mean 'what happened?'" Weiss asked the blonde, gently moving her aside as she entered the room. "nothing happened,"

"Oh really?" Blake asked. "I mean, a meeting with Ironwood himself implies that something happened,"

"Who said I met with Ironwood?" 

"Well… the last time one of us was pulled away to have a private conversation, it ended up being with Ironwood and Ozpin," Ruby said, sitting at the edge of her bunk. "I was that person,"

"Besides, who else would you be meeting with other than Ironwood?" Yang added, crossing her arms. "It's basically common sense Weiss. I thought you were a master at that, Schnee,"

"Oh shut up you!" Weiss scolded, glaring at the blonde as she started to remove her belts. "Okay fine, I met with Ironwood," she admitted. "But I swore to secrecy," 

"And so did we, but we still shared Ozpin's deepest secrets to Ironwood and the rest of the world," 

"Yang does have a point," 

"I'm going to find out eventually," Ruby said, jumping down from her bunk. "Ironwood will probably fill us in tomorrow morning, but I would like it better if you told me, i- if you want to," Ruby looked at her partner with a small smile. She understood the position she was in because they had sworn to secrecy with Ozpin to protect all of Remnant, but some secrets were meant to be shared after some time. Could she demand Weiss to share that secret? Yes, but did she want to? No. She fully respected and trusted Weiss if she decided to share or not. As she said before, it was going to be revealed sooner or later. 

Weiss's blue eyes met Ruby's soft silver eyes, eyes full of care and love. Oh how Weiss loved those eyes, she didn't know why. Was it because they remind her of the peaceful times before hell broke loose? Or was it because they showed Weiss the true meaning behind family? She didn't really care what it was, all she really wanted was to feel loved, feel accepted. Could she feel that with Ruby?

Weiss sighed in defeat. "Fine," She said, Ruby cheering quietly before sitting on her bed. "But if I get in trouble because one of you couldn't keep your mouth shut, I'll-"

"Yeah yeah, you'll freeze us to death. Just sit, Weiss!" Ruby said, pulling Weiss down on the bed. Weiss yelped but giggled at the girl's enthusiasm as well as the other two who sat cross crossed on the floor in front of her. 

"You guys are children, I swear," Weiss giggled. 

"Better that than being an old grumpy man like Jacquesass over there in prison," 

"Preach Yang, preach," 

"Alright, we're getting off topic here," Weiss said, slipping off her vivid blue shrug and exposing the simple pale blue and white v-neck top she wore under. "You guys were right, I was with Ironwood,"

"Called it!" Ruby chirped excitedly earning a playful eye roll from the silverette. 

"Anyway, the medical facility attached to the school was attacked,"

"Attacked?!"

"Yeah. By the little shapeshifter that worked with Torchwick,"

"What?!" Yang said, shocked. "She's here?!"

"Yep," Weiss said, popping the P. "Her name is Neopolitan,"

"I don't care what her name is! I just want to know why she's in Atlas!"

"She's with Cinder," Blake growled. "I just know it,"

"I don't doubt it," Ruby said. "Neo was with Torchwick who was with Cinder and the White Fang during the Fall of Beacon,"

"And now that Torchwick is gone, I guess she decided to be Cinder's lackey with Emerald and Mercury," Weiss added.

"Which means Cinder's here," The crimsonette concluded, clenching her fists hard. Anger filled those once peaceful silver eyes, the sin that Cinder committed unveiling once again, except no one noticed this sudden shift in anger. Nobody other than Weiss. 

"That… brings me to my other point," Weiss sighed. "We… lost the winter maiden…"

"What?!" Everyone yelled, their blood now booking hot out of fury. 

"We lost the Winter Maiden?!" 

"You have got to be shittin' me!!"

"Oh great!! Can this day get any worse?!"

"Ruby, Yang, Blake, calm down!" Weiss said, giving them a wide-eyed glare before pointing to the door. 

"Calm down?! How did we just lose one of our most powerful weapons against Salem?!" Yang whispered loudly. 

"I never said we lost the Winter Maiden to Cinder! I said we lost the Winter Maiden in general, you dunts!!" She replied in a loud whisper as well. 

"Wait what?"

Ruby grabbed Weiss' shoulders and pulled her close. "Weiss, are you saying what I think you're saying?" 

"Oh my Gods…" Team Bumblebee mumbled, looking at the silverette in shock. 

"B- before you say what I think you're going to say, let me first say that no. I am not the Winter Maiden," Weiss said, trying to keep a straight face. The other three just sighed. "G- geez… sorry to disappoint," 

"Sorry," Ruby said. "We didn't mean to make you feel bad,"

"We just wanted something good to happen to us after all the bad that has occurred so far," Blake said. 

"Do you at least know who the Winter Maiden is?" Yang asked. "That is the part that you swore secrecy to, right?"

"Yes. You are right," Weiss said, heading to her drawer for her change in clothes. "I do know who the next Winter Maiden was _supposed_ to be and I swore to keep it a secret until further notice," 

"Well? Who is it?" Yang asked, all of Team RWBY huddling up near the drawer. Weiss managed to grab her shirt and a change of undergarments before freezing. She knew the exact answer to that question. " _I lied. It's me, I'm the Winter Maiden,"_ was all Weiss wanted to say, but she was unsure on how her team would react. She knew that they were trustworthy, reliable, strong… but a feeling deep inside of her caused her heart to ache because of the fear and darkness that would engulf her if her team would get hurt because they knew her secret. That's the last thing she needed, an injured team… all because of her. So, the only answer she could give them was the one Ironwood preferred it to be. 

"Winter… my sister…" Weiss replied, snapping out of her thoughts as she gathered the rest of her belongings. "Well I hope it is…" 

The room filled in silence, and it stayed that way for a minute or two, because they all knew what it meant to be a Maiden. It meant painting a bright target on your back for Salem, for Cinder, who would definitely kill for that power, just like how she did with Pyrrha…

"Weiss…" Ruby finally spoke, shattering the unwelcomed silence. "A-"

"I- I'm fine, if that's what you were going to ask," Weiss quickly responded, closing the drawer and turning toward the crimsonette. 

"You don't sound fine…"

"B- but I am," she continued, looking at her partner with a small smile. 

"Are you sure? You do know the consequences to being a maiden, right?" Blake asked. 

"I'm aware, and so is Winter. She…" Weiss bit her bottom lip, emotions overwhelming her body by a ton. The extent she was going through to protect her team was heart wrenching, soul consuming, but she had to do it. _For them…_ "She and I talked before, and she was fine being next in line for the power,"

"So she was fine being a toy for Ironwood? Like, completely okay?" Yang said. 

"Yang!"

"What?"

"Yeah. She was fine with it," she said, recollecting the conversation she had with her sister before everything went south. "And… so am I. If my sister's happy, I'm happy,"

"You sure?" Ruby asked, looking at the silverette with eyes of concern and worry. Again, those daunting silver eyes made Weiss' heart beat faster than it should. Those eyes filled with so many emotions almost made her crack down. _Almost._

"I'm sure," Weiss said, touching the young huntress's shoulder reassuringly before heading over to their adjoined bathroom. "I'm going to take a shower. Don't wait for me, okay? Goodnight," 

Weiss immediately closed the bathroom door behind her and locked it so that neither of them can go in voluntarily. She knew the lock was basically useless with a literal cat burglar, a door smasher, and a speedster that owns basically a giant mechanical crowbar as her roommates, but she knew they wouldn't invade her privacy. Well, she hoped they wouldn't. 

"Weiss…" Ruby mumbled, looking at the closed door somberly. 

"I think we found your reason…" Blake said. 

"Yeah… we did…"

"That's one gut you have there, sis," Yang chuckled. "you always have a way to know when something's wrong, huh?"

"And when to do the right thing," Blake added. 

"Yeah… I guess…"

Yang yawned and stretched as she made her way to her bunk. "Well, you heard the Schnee. Let's hit the hay,"

"Agreed," Blake chuckled, stretching as well before crawling into bed. "I can go for-"

"A cat nap?"

The cat faunus sighed. "You couldn't help yourself, couldn't you?" 

"Nope!" Yang giggled, jumping up to her bunk and fixing her sheets before half of her body disappeared under them. However, through the reflection of the mirror, she could see her sister still stare at the door to their bathroom somberly. "You coming sis?"

"H- huh? O- oh! Nah…" Ruby replied, looking at her sister. "I think I'm going to stay awake a little bit longer," 

"You sure? You did do a lot of work today,"

"I'm sure," she said, sitting at the edge of her partner's bunk. 

Yang couldn't find an exact reason as to why Ruby was suddenly worried for Weiss. Was it a leader thing? Or a partner thing? It could be both; Ruby feeling like it's her job to ensure her teammates' mental and emotional stability. Weiss has been through hell recently: roaming the halls of a house she sacrificed everything to escape from, witnessing her abusive father win an election he didn't deserve to win, which paid off since she got the opportunity to arrest the son of a bitch, but still… Her sister is The Winter Maiden. Yang would be terrified if she found out that her own sister was the new maiden. Maybe that's why Weiss didn't want to share at first, because she was terrified… and now, Ruby wants to do everything she can to comfort her. That made Yang smile. 

"Okie," Yang said, fully covering herself with the sheets. "Goodnight, Rubes,"

"Goodnight, Yang," Ruby replied before looking at the bottom bunk next to her. "Goodnight, Blake," Ruby giggled when all she received back was a small snore, and honestly she couldn't blame Blake for automatically falling asleep. They had a rough day with the whole evacuation and protecting Mantle from enormous amounts of Grimm. All they had to worry about now was protecting the relics, and protecting each other. That's what mattered most to Ruby; protecting those she cared for, and that was her team, her new family. 

"Don't worry Weiss," Ruby whispered, making sure not to awake Yang and Blake. "I promise we'll stay with you at all times right? Well, I'll stay right here with you…"

Weiss walked out of the bathroom after an hour of showering and relaxing (something she clearly needed after a long stressful day) and an hour combing and drying her hair. She didn't realize she had so much. She thought Yang was the hairiest with that blond mane, but when she saw how long her white locks reached after undoing her braid was quite alarming. And she thought Ruby was crazy enough to cut her hair with the length that it originally was. She understood Blake's reasons for the cut, but Ruby? Her hair was perfect, the right length that is. It wasn't too long to get in the way and it wasn't too short. It was just right. So why did she cut it shorter and style it differently? New place, new look? Maybe…

Weiss vigorously pushed the sudden topic to the side and made her way to her laundry basket (the only laundry basket) next to her dresser to pack away some items before noticing a figure that laid on her bed. She sighed, mentally rolling her eyes because she knew exactly who that person was. 

"Ruby," She whispered to avoid waking up the others, sitting at the edge of her bed as she gently shook the other. "Ruby wake up,"

"I would definitely love some of your milk, Weiss~" Ruby mumbled in her sleep, a smile creeping on her face. Weiss blushed a crimson color because one, Ruby was dreaming about her. And two, Ruby was dreaming about her and milk?!

"R- Ruby!" Weiss whispered harshly, slapping the girl's chest hard causing the crimsonette to wake up suddenly.

"Give me back my-!" She screamed before her mouth was covered by a hand. Did she say something wrong? Or was someone trying to keep her quiet? Her question was soon answered when her eyes finally focused and saw a very flustered and pissed off Weiss glaring her to death. 

"Quiet down you dolt!" She whispered loudly. "you'll wake up the others,"

"Sowy," she mumbled, the hand still covering her mouth. Weiss scoffed, removing her hand and liberating the crimsonette from her death glare. 

"I thought I told you to not wait for me," 

"I- I know, but-" 

"Take that, you bad fish…!" They heard Blake say followed by a huge thump. Was Blake fighting against a fish? Or was she calling a villain a fish? Whatever it was, Blake would remember it once she woke up with a swollen ankle. 

"That's gonna hurt in the morning," White Rose both said before giggling at each other after the realization. 

Weiss motioned towards the bathroom, which was still lit, before standing up and disappearing into the light. Ruby followed her partner inside and closed the door behind her, adjusting to the light as Weiss spoke. 

"Do you realize what time it is?" Weiss asked, taking out her scroll and reading the time. "It's almost two in the morning and we wake up at five every day. Don't you think it's a little irresponsible of you to do an all-nighter after what happened today?"

"I wasn't doing an all-nighter, Weiss," Ruby half said half yawned. "I was planning on going to sleep after you got out of the shower,"

"But why? I clearly said not to wait for me,"

"I know, but listen," Ruby sighed, leaning against the door with her arms crossed against her chest. "I know it sounds dumb but… I'm worried about you, Weiss. You've been through a lot recently and I feel like there's something wrong with you-- not in a bad way! Y- you're perfect just the way you are! I- I mean,"

Weiss giggled at her partner's nervousness, Ruby blushing with embarrassment before continuing. "What I mean to say is… I feel that there's more to this whole Maiden thing than you're letting on. I could be wrong. It's not the first time that I am, but it's the only thing that can describe what I'm feeling…" 

Weiss raised a brow. "So?"

"So…" Ruby looked at Weiss, silver meeting icy blue again. "Are you really okay, Weiss?"

There it goes again; those daunting silver eyes trying to break open a can of worms that is better off closed. Weiss' heart beat increased once she looked into those silver eyes for, again, reasons unknown to her. Was it because she sensed worry and fear? That's got to be it, right? 

"Ruby…" 

"Please Weiss… I don't want to force you to say anything-- I would never force you to say anything," She corrected herself. "But if there is something wrong, something that still worries you, please tell me. I trust you, I care for you, but that goes a long way if it's only one-sided. We're partners right? How can I help my partner if she doesn't tell me what's wrong?"

 _Partners…_

"We're not partners, Ruby," Ruby's face fell as Weiss hoisted herself up to the bathroom sink so she could sit. "We're family…" Ruby smiled. "And you're right. I wasn't being completely honest with all of you…" 

"Then what's wrong Weiss?" Ruby asked, walking from the door to the bathroom sink. 

"I…" _Should I really tell her?_ She thought to herself. _Should I tell her the truth?_ The truth being that Weiss had to inherit the powers of the Winter Maiden before Neopolitan could kill her. And when Neopolitan decided to take the entire building down to kill Weiss, she tried her best to survive and capture, but instead ended up being on opposite sides of a burning wall. How the building caught on fire she did not know. She was certain of one thing though… she was the Winter Maiden, and that Cinder was going after her now… no doubt about it. 

"Weiss…" Ruby mumbled, wiping away the tears that fell from the silverette's eyes. She was crying? When did she start crying? Better question, why was she crying? "It's okay…" She continued comforting her, rubbing her cheek with her thumb as she smiled. "I'm here for you. I'm here for you and I promise I'll stay with you,"

"D- do you?" Weiss asked in between a sob. "Do you promise?"

"I do," Ruby said, pulling her partner in a hug. "I promise,"

Weiss let out a shaky chuckle as she hugged her partner with a smile. She really did have the best partner, and maybe she did deserve the whole truth. She now knew that Ruby would definitely stick with her no matter what, and Ruby Rose is a person that would never break a promise. Never. 

Weiss and Ruby pulled away from a hug that seemed to have lasted for a while, but Weiss noticed something about Ruby that she never noticed before. Was Ruby always so tall? Or was Weiss suddenly shrinking. Maybe it was because she wasn't wearing her heels and was using the sink as a chair, but the height difference between her and Ruby was incredible. And something else was off too, something that possibly explained why Weiss was feeling so flustered by Ruby (her eyes especially). Was Ruby always so beautiful?

The silverette held the crimsonettes face in her hands, startling the girl for a second before melting into the touch. Weiss' hands were always cold, but who knew Ruby's was always hot? Was it because she was blushing too? Weiss wrapped her legs around Ruby and pulled her closer. If she wasn't blushing before she was blushing now because of the awkward (and lustful) position they were in. 

"W- Weiss, I-"

"R- relax Ruby,"

"I- I don't think w- we should, uhm…"

"We should, what?"

"We should be, uhm… doing what we're doing…"

"And what exactly are we doing, Ruby?" The crimsonette opened her mouth to respond only to fall silent and blush. They didn't need a doctor to tell them that their hearts were racing, and they both knew why. Did they want to admit it to each other, though?

Ruby chuckled, placing her hands on Weiss' waist as she moved in closer. "You know… If Yang saw us in this weird position, she would freak,"

"She definitely would," she agreed with a giggle. The crimsonette gulped, obviously nervous and scared? Weiss couldn't really identify the other emotion she saw in those silver eyes. She did know that she was basically forcing Ruby into an embrace and that it was making her uncomfortable. "I- if you want me to let you go, I would happily-"

"N- no!" Ruby quickly replied, throwing her back. "I- it's fine. It's making you feel better, right?"

Weiss blinked at the girl's statement. Since they've been in this weird position, Weiss had stopped crying and shaking. She felt more confident and safe now that Ruby was in her arms (well legs). Was this all she needed? No… she wanted something more.

"Y- yeah. It is," Weiss replied, blushing. "You know what would make me feel even better?"

"What?" Weiss looked deep into Ruby's eyes, sending her a message that Ruby understood so well. She was honestly surprised she thought of that too, but maybe it was because she wanted it too. "O- oh…" Ruby said, her face inching closer to Weiss'. "I- I guess… that wouldn't be… a bad idea…" 

"No… it wouldn't…" Weiss mumbled, inching her face closer to Ruby's. They were so close that they could feel each other's breathing at a steady pace. They both wanted this. They both wanted each other. They both didn't want to live without the other, and that was enough to drive them forward to the goal; eternal happiness. 

Before Weiss and Ruby could get that ever-wanting kiss, a small siren went off followed by many more in the background. They both stopped the moment they were having, sad that it was ruined, but something else was more urgent than their hormones. Weiss pulled out her scroll and showed Ruby the notification that just arrived: Grimm Invasion at Mantle. All Hands on Deck. 

"Damn it…" Ruby cursed under her breath, turning her gaze from the device to her partner, who looked more sad than ever. Ruby grabbed Weiss' hand and placed a kiss on her cheek before speaking. "We'll… talk about this later, okay?"

"Y- yeah…" Weiss said, the kiss still lingering on her now red cheeks. 

Ruby gave Weiss a playful smirk before pulling away from the silverette and bursting into the room in her signature bundle of roses. "Yang! Blake! Wake up!" She heard Ruby scream. "We gotta go!"

Weiss heard grumbling from the other two, but she was too focused on the sensation on her cheek to hear the complaints. Her heart felt like it would beat out of her chest, and she knew very well that her face was all red like Ruby's cape. Her fingers roamed to the area that was kissed and that only brought a smile to Weiss' face. 

"Just five more minutes…!" She heard Yang say followed by a hiss from Blake. _And I thought I was bad…_ Weiss thought as she jumped off the sink and stormed into the room. 

"Yang get your butt off of that bed!" Weiss screamed, pulling the blankets off of Yang before throwing them at Blake. "You too Blake!!"

Blake and Yang groan before being met with their uniforms being thrown at their faces. Yang was the first to speak, lazily sitting up and dangling her feet off the bed as she rubbed her eyes open. 

"Geez… who got your panties wet…?" Yang grumpily asked. 

Weiss scoffs and blushes, rolling her eyes before throwing the blonde's scroll at her. "check your scrolls you dunts! Mantle is under attack again!"

"Again?" Blake mumbled, getting up from her bed and stretching. "It hasn't even been an hour since we fell asleep,"

"It's been two hours, Blake,"

"And how do you know, Ice Queen?" Yang asked. 

"Because that's how long Weiss took to get out of the shower," Ruby replied, already dressed and ready to go. "I should know because I waited for her,"

"When I told you not to,"

"I couldn't wait until the morning to have that conversation, Weiss,"

"You're such an impatient child, Ruby," Weiss said, having trouble putting on her vivid blue shrug because of her long loose hair. "Ruby can you help me with my hair while I put the rest of my outfit on?"

"O- okay," Ruby said, gently pulling the silver hair out and behind the blue waist jacket before holding it up high as Weiss started to buckle her belts around her waist. Blake and Yang watched the two Huntresses interact, both nervous and awkward towards each other but still comfortable enough to be around each other. It kind of reminded them of their interactions back in the train to Argus. Did they argue while they slept? Ruby did say their talk was urgent and couldn't wait until the morning. Whatever the reason was, it had to wait because Mantle was more important than spilling the tea.

Team RWBY finished getting dressed and rushed out of their room with their weapons ready at hand. They ran through the hallways and were being joined by many other students and huntsmen and huntresses in the building, who looked worse than they did. Some weren't even dressed in their combat attire and still had their pajamas on. Now Weiss didn't feel bad having her hair out instead of her usual braid. 

"What is causing more Grimm to come to Mantle?" Blake asked while running. "I thought we had Tyrian and Watts under our custody!"

"Maybe it's the negative emotions of the citizens of Mantle causing the Grimm to come near the city!" Yang replied.

"But aren't all the citizens evacuated by now?" Weiss pointed out, trying to be the voice of reason. "Who else would be in Mantle if all of Mantle is here in Atlas?"

"It's the lingering negative emotions that are driving the Grimm back…" Ruby said, causing her team to stop and look at her confused. "Do you remember what Oobleck said back at Beacon when we went in search of that secret White Fang base?"

"How could I forget you falling into a hole and getting captured?" Yang asked. 

"Not my proudest moment, but off topic! Oobleck said that the negative emotions of the city still lingered, causing the Grimm to still roam around without anybody there! Even though there were people still there but underground," she mumbled the last part. "Maybe that's why the Grimm is still attacking?" 

"Could be," Weiss said, her hand up to her chin as she thought through other options.

"Could this possibly also be a set-up?" Blake asked, grabbing the attention of everyone. 

"A set-up?"

"Yeah. It's all hands on deck, right? Someone wants everyone out, and I mean everyone,"

"But for what?" Yang asked. "I mean the only thing we're harvesting here is-"

"The relic!" Everyone said in unison. 

"We need to warn the others!" Ruby said, taking out her scroll. "we need to warn Oscar!"

"We need to warn Ironwood first!" Weiss said, scrolling through her contacts. "I'll call Winter. Maybe she can call off the order,"

"Blake and I will go find Oscar and the others," Yang said, walking back down the hallway. "Hopefully we're not too late,"

"I hope you are," someone said, their heels clicking against the marble floor. Yang and Blake stopped in their tracks and stared at the woman in front of them. They had a black cape covering the left side of their body and had short hair that covered what seemed to be an eye patch. Their clothing was too short for Atlasware, but surely their demonic appeal kept them warm. 

"Cinder," Ruby growled, making her way to the front of the group, holding Crimson Rose in front of her. "you did this,"

"Was there any doubt?" She chuckled, strutting closer.

"Move closer and I won't hesitate to blow your head off," Yang threatened, entering a protective stance as Ember Celica shifted to its battle mode. 

"Wow, so overprotective aren't you sunshine?"

"What do you want?" Ruby asked. "Surely the relic isn't with us but somewhere else,"

"With the farm boy, I presume?" Cinder laughed as the color drained from Team RWBY's face. "What? You thought I didn't do my research before stepping foot into the great Atlas Academy? Guess I can thank your father for giving us an opportunity to sneak in and spy during that dinner if yours, Ice Queen," 

"W- what…?" 

"You were there during the dinner?!" 

"Well, not me, but my associate,"

"Neopolitan," 

"Ah so you know of my associate," Cinder chuckled. "Well that's good. Now you know who's responsible for the death of your friends. It's sad that you weren't able to save them," Ruby growled, gripping her weapon tight.

"So Neo is after the relic," Blake mumbled. 

"Yeah," Yang mumbled back. 

"We need to get to Oscar, warn Ironwood, and protect the relic," Ruby continued. 

"But we need a way through Cinder," Weiss added.

"Let me handle Cinder," Ruby scowled. "She and I have unfinished business," Ruby stood a step forward and stared Cinder straight in the eye and asked, "If Neo is stealing the relic right now, then why are you here with us?"

"It's rather simple really," Cinder said, pointing to the silverette behind Ruby. "I'm here for her," 

Weiss gulped. "M- me?"

"Yes you darling," Cinder takes a step closer. "You have something I want,"

"I–"

"Take one more step and it'll be your last!" Ruby warned, unleashing her scythe from its gun form and pointing the barrel towards Cinder. 

"Rose, if you're going to bluff then you'll have to do it correctly," the Maiden chuckled, a ball of fire emerging from her right palm. "Hand over the girl and you will not be harmed,"

"Why do you want Weiss!" Blake screamed, aiming Gambol Shroud towards the woman. 

"Do you not know the power she possesses? Has she not told you the truth?" Team RWBY stood quiet, causing the woman to laugh. "oh this is great! Incredible! You four have been through hell and back together, yet this one important life changing secret hasn't been told?" She continued to laugh. 

"Weiss what is she talking about?" Ruby asked, turning around to her partner only to see her staring down at the ground, clenching her fists as tears dropped to the ground. "Weiss?" 

"Do you want to tell your deep dirty secret, or shall I do the honor?" Cinder grinned, taking another step forward. 

Team RWBY's focus wasn't on Cinder anymore. It was redirected to the silverette, who quietly sobbed behind them. She didn't want this. She didn't want any of this. They were supposed to be fighting Grimm, not Cinder. Not the Fall Maiden. Now, because of her carelessness, because she disobeyed direct orders to stay put and head back to the Academy, she was putting her friends in danger. No… her family. She didn't want to put her family in danger. So… there was only one thing she could do. 

_Fight…_

"Weiss?" Ruby said worriedly, lowering Crescent Rose and her guard.

"I'm sorry…" Weiss mumbled.

"What?"

Weiss jerked her head up and glared at Cinder before her eyes glowed a light blue light and was outlined by a similar colored flame. "I'm sorry you had to find out this way," 

And in a blink of an eye, Weiss charged at Cinder, a gust of wind pushing the rest of the team back and onto the ground. 

"You're going down!!" Weiss yelled, bringing Myrtenaster's blade up to strike Cinder, only to get blocked by Cinder's own fiery sword. 

Cinder smirked. "Killing you is going to be fun,"

"Ex-heiress!" The two maidens started battling it out in the hallway, breaking through walls and drastically changing the temperatures with their magic. Team RBY quickly got up from the floor and stared in shock at the fight in front, wondering if this was all a dream or reality. 

"Weiss is the Winter Maiden?!" Yang blurted out, breaking the silence between the three. 

"Apparently," Blake replied, lost in words. 

"She lied? Why would Weiss lie to us?!"

"That doesn't matter right now!" Ruby screamed, turning to her sister and the faunus. "you two find Jaune, Nora, Ren, and Oscar and protect the relic from Neo! I'll help Weiss with Cinder!"

"You're gonna what?!"

"Ruby, you're unequally matched in this battle," Blake said calmly. "Leave Weiss to Cinder and come with us,"

"Nope," Ruby said, putting emphasis on the P. "I'm going to help my partner. You two go get the relic and warn the others of Cinder and Neo’s infiltration," Yang looked at Ruby worriedly, her face sending a clear message to the young leader. 

_I don't want to lose you…_

Ruby looked back at Yang, eyebrows furrowed with confidence, sending a clear message back to the sibling. 

_You won't._

Yang sighed in defeat, eyeing down her sister as she started running away from the fight. "Don't make me regret this, Ruby!" She screamed as she turned the corner. 

"You won't!" The leader screamed back before looking at Blake. "Protect her for me, please?"

Blake nodded in response, receiving the hidden message loud and clear. "Don't worry. We're protecting each other," Blake started to run in the same direction Yang did as she screamed "good luck" at the young huntress. 

"Thank you…" Ruby mumbled, turning down the now frozen hallway. She knew she was outmatched in this fight; her partner (who was now a maiden) fighting a maiden with more experience with magic. She knew the consequences behind her action, one of them being death… but she had to fight. Not for her revenge, but for Weiss. She already failed Penny, Pyrrah… she couldn't fail Weiss and lose her to Cinder. Not this time around. 

Weiss was thrown through several walls belonging to a couple of the student dorms, her aura flickering as she landed on the ground. _That was… surprisingly not as painful as I thought it would be,_ Weiss thought, standing up and dusting her off before standing on guard as Cinder walked through the gaps. 

"Not bad for a newbie," Cinder complimented. "however, you have no idea how to use your powers in a more extraordinary manner,"

"I don't need glamour to defeat you," Weiss growled, pointing her sword at her. 

"You think you can defeat me without using magic?" She laughed, extending her hand in front of her as rubble engulfed in fire rose from the ground. “Give it your best–”

Cinder stopped mid sentence when she spotted a fire dust crystal fly through the air followed by a round of a sniper going off. In the blink of an eye, half of the room was engulfed in fire and smoke, but Weiss didn't need her eyesight to know who that sniper rifle bullet belonged to. Her suspicions were answered when she felt strong arms wrap around her waist.

"Ruby?!"

"Run now talk later!" Ruby screamed, bursting out of the room in a white and red bundle of roses. Cinder screamed, using her magic to calm the flames before chasing after the bundle

They both flew down the hallway, turning sharp corners trying to avoid the angry flaming fireballs being thrown at them. It wasn't until they reached a fork in the dorm hallways that they lost Cinder; Ruby and Weiss took the hallway to the farthest right while Cinder took the hallway to the farthest left. It would be a while for Cinder to realize she took the wrong hallway. 

Once she entered the hallway, Ruby released Weiss from the bundle and dragged her into an empty dorm room before shutting the door close and hiding in a corner. Weiss was too pumped up with adrenaline to even notice they had stopped in a room alone with Ruby as a female cyromancer maniac flew through the hallways. 

Today was her lucky day, huh? 

"I- is she gone?" Weiss asked in between her panting. 

"I think so," Ruby replied, leaning her head back against the wall and letting out a deep sigh. "But I don't doubt she'll just leave us alone anytime soon,"

"Ruby…" Weiss gulped, still catching her breath. "I…"

"We need a plan," the crimsonette said, taking out her scroll and looking at the map of the campus. "Yes! We're right in front of the back parking lot! If we jump out this window then we should-"

"Ruby!" She shouted, the crimsonette flinching slightly before looking up at the girl.

"Is everything okay Weiss?" 

"You're not even going to question me?!"

"Why would I?"

"Why would I?!" She scoffed. "I lied to you Ruby! I lied to everyone, even Winter! She thinks Neo has the powers! And I made you all believe that Winter was the Maiden but you're going to disregard the fact that I lied to you and the team?!"

"I'm not, Weiss,"

"Then why are you acting so damn calm about it?!"

"It's because I know you have a good reason for lying," Ruby said, smiling at her partner as she placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I know that you wouldn't keep anything from us unless it was dangerous to us because we care for each other that much. I understand the fact that you were trying to protect us from Cinder and I respect that as a leader, because we as leaders are forced to keep many secrets from their teams. You don't have to worry about me taking this the wrong way," 

"Ruby…" Weiss smiled at her before pulling her into a tight hug. Ruby was a little shaken from the affection but just shrugged it off and hugged back with the same passion. "thank you…" she heard Weiss mumble, humming in response. 

"It's no problem, Weiss," Ruby said. "I promised to stay with you, right?" Ruby pulled back and smiled her beautiful smile. Weiss' heart felt like it was going to jump out of her chest especially now that all she could stare at were those mesmerizing silver eyes. She would've kissed Ruby right then and there if the crimsonette didn't rise up and walk towards the window. 

"Now then, how about we get out of here before Cinder comes back?" Ruby suggested, propping open the window. "The sooner we leave, the sooner we can talk about what happened in the bathroom,"

Weiss had totally forgotten about what happened in their bathroom. She had been involved in a very life threatening situation quickly after they left the room that the whole conversation with Ruby totally slipped her mind. Just thinking about it again made her cheeks flush the color of her counterpart. 

"R- right, the bathroom thing…" Weiss mumbled before getting up and running towards the crimsonette. 

Ruby propped open another window for Weiss to get through before the door behind them burst into flames. 

"You!" Cinder shouts, impatiently breaking down the door. 

"Oh no…"

"Times up!" Ruby grabs Weiss by the waist again and uses her semblance before the window was met with a fireball. Ruby and Weiss' bundle of red and white crashed down in the middle of the parking lot, both girls groaning as their auras flickered. 

"Wow… that hurt…" Ruby whimpered, rubbing the back of her head. "I didn't even get hit yet I feel like my back got burned," 

"That's the power of a trained Maiden, I suppose," Weiss replied strained. For someone who only had the powers of the winter maiden for a couple of hours she was surprisingly doing well with surviving. However, after seeing what Cinder was capable of with similar powers, she wondered why she even took pride in spawning a small ball of ice. She was so powerful that she didn't need to directly hit you to feel its effect on the body. 

Weiss wondered if she would ever get that strong one day. 

"You'll get that strong Weiss, no doubt about it," Ruby said as if she read her mind. "You're part of Team RWBY after all. All we do is get stronger and stronger after every fight," 

With those words, Ruby stood up from the ground and held her head up high and Crescent Rose in front as the Fall Maiden jumped down from the window with ease. Weiss smirked, pride filling her heart with those words. She was the W in Team RWBY, known as one of the strongest teams in all of Beacon, when there was a Beacon. Now she's the W in a newer and stronger Team RWBY, one that doesn't back down from doing what's right, one that doesn't give up a fight. She was happy, no, glad she was in a team like that. In a team with Ruby as her leader, partner, and friend. 

"You can say that again," Weiss replied, standing firm with Myrtenaster at her side, ready to slice through Cinder's fire with her ice. 

"Why aren't you two adorable," Cinder sneered. "doesn't matter now because I'll burn off those smiles from your faces in a blink of an eye!"

"Not before we mop the ground with your face!" Ruby threw back, obviously proud of that throwback. Weiss would've high-fived her if she wasn't so focused on the ravenette threatening to burn them alive. 

"Playing the tuff act, huh? We'll see how long that'll last,"

"It'll last longer than you," Weiss replied before mumbling "I hope." 

"Just shut up and fight!" She yelled, charging towards the partners at an immense speed that only Weiss could register. Her eyes glowed a light blue before her blade met with Cinder's and an immense amount of energy was released, throwing Ruby a couple of feet back. 

"Damn!" Ruby gasped, watching as Cinder and Weiss battle it out with great speed and strength. She knew that Weiss was a good sword wielder, but she didn't know she was that good enough to keep up with a maiden, a magic user! She'll have to ask Weiss for a sparring match later, if there is a later that is… 

Weiss struggled to keep up the more experienced maiden. Sure, her sword skills were known to be supreme, but Cinder's dual wielding was erratic and all over the place! There was no way Weiss could block every strike if Cinder didn't have any coordination.

Cinder slowly chipped through Weiss' aura, trying her very best to gain the winter maiden powers at all cost. Even if it meant killing the girl. However, she knew very well that the Schnee wouldn't give up that easily. She saw how she fought back at Haven; elegant and strategically. She also knew her weakness; she depended a lot on her semblance. She didn't know exactly how it worked, but it didn't take a genius to see that Weiss was nothing without her glyphs. All she had to do was keep her from summoning. 

And it was working. Every time Weiss had a second to rest she tried sumon but kept being interrupted by Cinder. Weiss was becoming exhausted and overwhelmed, and Ruby could see the fear rising on her face as she checked Weiss’ aura levels. 

“Twenty-six…” Ruby mumbled, watching the bar get smaller by the second. “At this rate…” She shook her head, groaning as she tried to think of a plan to save her partner. She was so unmatched in this fight, both of them were, but she couldn’t just stand there and do nothing! She had to do something. Something that will grab Cinder’s attention for more than a second. Something…

“That’s it!” Ruby screamed out loud as she used her semblance to travel to the roof of the school. She kneeled at the edge and shifted Crescent Rose to its gun form and aimed for Cinder, which was hard because she kept moving all over the place, but not impossible. She just needed to time the shot just right… 

“You’re dead, Schnee!” Cinder yelled, striking Myrtenaster’s blade with a force so big that it cracked the blade. Weiss gulped and reinforced her blade by using both hands to block before speaking.

“Says who?”

“Me!” Cinder pushed Weiss back before swinging her sword at the small maiden. Weiss blocked the strike, but cost her Myrtenaster, her prized rapier that had been with her for who knows how long. Weiss watched as the two pieces of her blade fell to the ground in front of her before she too fell back first to the ground. She groaned because of the tumble, but it didn’t hurt as much as losing an extension of herself… 

“What did I tell you?” Cinder chuckled. “You’re no match for me little girl,” She strutted towards the fallen girl, her Grimm arm stretching towards her. Weiss started crawling away, her heart racing, fear racing through her body. This was it… This is where she dies… 

A gunshot was fired followed by a pained scream from the older maiden. She clutched her grimm arm, which now had a hole through the palm of her hand, before looking in the direction where the bullet came from. Cinder scowled, recognizing the bundle of red that was kneeling on the edge.

“Leave her alone!!” Ruby yelled from afar as she rapidly fired her sniper rifle at Cinder. The Maiden let out an angry scream, eyes burning with rage as she charged towards the crimsonette.

"Ruby, no!" Weiss screamed but it was too late. Cinder had already flown up the building and engaged in battle with the scythe wielder. She saw how Ruby swung her scythe at Cinder and how she quickly dodged the fireballs with her semblance, but she knew that she wouldn't last long. If she, an actual maiden with magic, couldn't last against Cinder then there's no way Ruby would last even a minute. So, she had to think of something fast. 

Weiss grabbed the pieces of Myrtenaster and inspected the damage done to it. The cut was clean so it could be easily fixed by a blacksmith, but there was no way she was going to abandon Ruby just to get her rapier fixed. So, a temporary solution had to do. She could always freeze the two parts together, but the ice bond would probably melt with Cinder's fire magic. Maybe she could make a sword out of scratch like Cinder did… yeah that could work. But she didn't know how to make swords out of scratch. Did she have to just imagine the kind of sword? Or did she have to grab materials for it?

Oh how she missed being normal…

Weiss was brought out of her thoughts when she heard a loud explosion accompanied by a high-pitched scream. "Ruby!" She screamed, dropping Myrtenaster and running towards the building. _This can't be happening. This cannot be happening!_ Weiss thought. _I can't lose her. I can't!_

Ruby tumbled to the ground, dropping Crescent Rose before gripping her abdomen. Her aura flickered lightly before shattering. This was it, the end… but she had to get up. She had to fight. Fight to protect her team; for Blake, Yang, Weiss… she couldn't give up. 

"So this is how the Rose falls," Cinder said with a smirk. "Too bad. I was hoping to have more fun with you,"

"T- then why don't you?" Ruby asked, wincing as she got on her knees. 

"Unfortunately, I was asked to keep you alive," she growled. "But you know how life is, right? Accidents happen," She smirked, her sword growing bigger and now scraping the ground. 

"Get away from her!!" Weiss yells ferociously, her eyes glowing a bright blue as she climbed the edge of the ground. The silverette immediately tackled the ravenette, pinning her to the ground before knocking away the sword from her grasp. She didn’t know where this sudden strength came from and she didn’t care. Okay maybe she did deep down, but finding out if this strength was a side effect of the Maiden powers or just her own backed up by adrenaline wasn't important. What was important at that exact moment in time was keeping Ruby safe. But why? 

“Why you-!” Cinder said, knocking her head back before bringing it forward for a head bump. Weiss leaned back and was ready to pin Cinder back down before anything could happen, but Cinder pulled out of her grasp and managed to throw a hard punch at the silverette, knocking her off. Cinder smiled, grabbing the inexperienced maiden by the neck before lifting her up from the ground. “Nice try, Schnee,”

“Weiss!” Ruby screamed getting on one knee before she tumbled back down. 

“D- don’t–” She breathed, only causing the hand constrict around her neck.

“Don’t what? Don’t watch me die?” Cinder laughs. “Oh you underestimate me. She’ll watch you die like she did with that other girl on Beacon. What was her name? Pyrrha Nikos?”

“P- Pyrrha…” Ruby silently cried, fisting the ground hard as she remembered that gruesome night. She had just climbed up the tower with the help of Weiss, and before she could do anything, she saw Cinder herself place a hand on her friend’s cheek before she turned into ash and blew away with the wind. Ruby couldn’t believe it then… she couldn’t believe it now… that she’ll watch her partner, no her best friend, no that’s not right either… 

“Too bad Ms. Schnee has to suffer the same fate,” Cinder continued, her Grimm hand raising to touch the young maiden. “Well, not really. Pyrrha didn’t suffer what she’s going to suffer now,”

“N- no…” Weiss managed to say, oxygen being denied from her lungs as she tried to breathe in. She couldn’t die. Not yet. Not in front of her partner, no, her best friend… That doesn’t sound right… 

“You should’ve died back at Haven” Ruby heard Cinder say which made her blood boil. She remembered waking up to Jaune hovering over Weiss, his newly found semblance returning her to good health. She didn’t know that Weiss was pierced through with a javelin. She didn't know Cinder was going to take the opportunity to become even more monstrous. But she knew one thing. She was angry. Angry because she wasn’t there to save Weiss. Angry because she was too weak to help Yang. Angry that she wasn’t fast enough to save Pyrrha. But now, she’s gotten faster, she’s gotten stronger, and she was definitely not missing out on life with Weiss by her side. Not this time around. 

“GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF HER!” Ruby yelled, a bright white light shining from her silver eyes engulfed the roof. 

“NO!” Cinder yells as she is engulfed by the pure light, her Grimm arm disintegrating as Weiss fell to the ground. She stumbled back, gripping her left shoulder screaming bloody murder as the crimsonette huffed for air, strength now gone from her body. She watched her partner gasp for air, gaining back the pink flush in her cheeks. All she could do was smile because her friend was safe… that title doesn’t suit Weiss anymore though. Weiss was more than a friend. She was family in more ways than one. She was-

“Ruby watch out!!” Weiss warned as a small rapier-like sword was unsheathed by a small woman. Ruby was confused. Why did Weiss look scared? Her question was finally answered when she felt a sharp pain in her chest. She glanced down and saw a blade had pierced her from behind. She couldn’t believe it. She was angry because she couldn’t save Weiss from being stabbed at Haven, and now after she saved Weiss here in Atlas she was stabbed. 

“RUBY!!” The silverette yelled, crawling on the cold hard ground towards her partner who laid a couple of feet ahead.

“I tried to warn her,” Cinder chuckled, her Grimm arm now fully grown as she swung the Relic of Knowledge on her finger, watching the girl struggle her way towards her soon-to-be dead partner. “There was no way she was going to beat me again,” 

“Ruby!” She cried, pulling her close and checking for a sign of life. There was just a faint pulse, but she doubted it would last for long with her injuries; cuts and bruises all over her body as well as the deep stab wound in her chest. It was horrible, she was horrible… 

The small girl next to the maiden, Neopolitan, tapped the taller maiden before making crying motions with her hands as she smiled. Cinder laughed, clipping the lamp to her belt before speaking. “I know. Who knew the Ice Queen had a heart,”

The Ice Queen did have heart, however, and that heart belonged to her team, to her partner, to her… 

"Don't worry Ruby…" she whispered, running her thumb on the girl's cheek before placing a small peck. "I won't let you down… I promised to be the best partner you'll ever have, right…?" She smiled, grasping her hand tightly as her tears slowly washed the blood off the other's face. "Cinder may have taken you from me, but she's not taking me away from you…" 

"I'm getting bored of all this sappy stuff," The maiden said, turning to meet her partner in crime. "You wouldn't mind staining your hands with royal blood, right?"

Neo smirks, twirling the parasol around her finger as she strutted her way towards the silverette. However, the other had different plans.

"Like that's gonna happen," she hissed, standing up strong, clenching her fists. "She promised she'd stay… she promised she'd stay with me until the end but you made her break that promise!! Now, I'm gonna break you!"

A sudden burst of energy and magic was released into the atmosphere as Weiss charged at the villain duo. Neo angrily sneered and charged as well, her parasol ready to strike, but Weiss was already one step ahead. She subconsciously summoned a sword made of pure ice and swung it at Neo, sending a cold blast of snow that froze the ground and the woman. 

Cinder gasped before growling, charging at the inexperienced maiden with a magic sword of her own. "Give me the powers!" She yelled, swinging at Weiss. "You don't deserve them!!"

"And neither do you!" Weiss replied back, parrying the strike. She summons another blade in her right and strikes the chest, sending Cinder back a couple of feet. Cinder managed to regain her balance but was soon thrown back to the ground by Weiss' undercut strike. 

Cinder couldn't believe it. She was being thrown around by a Schnee, the same Schnee that was at death's door a few months ago, the same Schnee that had fled when Beacon fell. When did the weak Schnee she saw at the Vytal tournament trade places with this strong woman? 

Before Weiss could strike the ground and shatter her aura, Cinder rolled away and quickly got up, panting heavily. 

"No!! This isn't how it's supposed to be! No no no no no no no!!" Cinder screams, letting out a blast of energy before shooting it out to the silverette. Weiss took a deep breath and focused all of her energy in her body to the palm of her hands, where magic was also released. Both Maidens were now battling it out in a battle of stamina and strength; where one would either get burned alive or frozen. Neither of the two women were going to give up easily, but Weiss’ strength didn’t even come close to Cinder’s.

“Just give up, Schnee!” Cinder yelled. “You don’t deserve those magic powers!”

“A- and you do?!” Weiss asked, being pushed back a couple of centimeters. 

“I was destined to have these powers! I was destined to win!” She took a step forward, pushing Weiss back a couple of inches. “You have no idea what it feels like to be powerless! To crave anything and everything! You had everything you wanted at your fingertips! You could never understand this world’s struggle, you spoiled heiress!!”

Cinder was right. Weiss didn’t know how it felt to be powerless. She had an entire mansion staff to order around at her fingertips, she had an entire company she could’ve taken over… Could’ve. She gave up that right when she decided to go to Mystral, when she decided to reunite with her team, when she preferred happiness over money and selfishness. She didn’t know how it felt to be powerless, but she did know how it felt to not be loved, and she didn’t like it. Now she has an actual family that loves her, cares for her, stays by her side… and she wasn’t going to let that go.

“Wrong!” Weiss screamed, taking a step forward and pushing Cinder back a couple of centimeters. “All I had was money! I didn’t have parents who loved me! I didn’t have control over my own life! But now,” Weiss summoned a gravity glyph behind Cinder which forced the more experienced maiden to fly backwards and rickochet to the ground. "I have everything that I wanted," 

Cinder huffed heavily, trying her best to not fall on her knees. "oh yeah? What's better than power?"

"Family!" Blake and Yang yelled, Blake throwing the gun end of Gambol Shroud at Cinder and pulling on her end as it tied around the maiden's waist. 

"What?! How?!" Cinder gasped, Blake pulling on the ribbon again causing her to fly back to the ground. 

"Yang!" The faunus yelled, the blonde sprinting towards the fallen maiden. Cinder quickly got up but was forced back down on her knees by Weiss and her giant gravity glyph. 

"This is for what you did to Pyrrha and Ruby and all of Beacon you son of a bitch!" Yang growled, her eyes glowing a bright orange red and her hair catching on fire as her semblance activated. Yang let out a loud yell as she punched Cinder in the face with all of her strength. Cinder flew across the ground like a ragdoll, her aura shattering as she landed close to Ruby's feet. 

"N- no…!" Cinder whimpered, trying her best to get up and fight, but that punch forced everything out of her. All she could do was lay on the ground like a useless baby who didn't know how to crawl or walk. All she could do was cry. "this can't be the end..!"

"You're right. This isn't the end," Weiss said, walking next to Cinder. "this is just the beginning of your sentence,"

"W- why you…!" Weiss held out her hand and let out a small pulse of magic, freezing Cinder before she could act against her. She let out a sigh of relief before dropping down to her knees. 

"It's finally over…" she said to herself, finally able to relax. That moment was short lived, because what she heard after brought her back to her new reality.

"Ruby!!!" Yang yelled, shaking her sister's body furiously. "Ruby, wake up!! Please I beg you!" 

"Ruby…" Weiss said out of breath, pushing herself to run back to her partner. She dropped to her knees again and quickly brought the crimsonette close to her body. Ruby was cold and she wasn't breathing anymore. She couldn't even feel a faint heart beat. She was gone. She was truly gone… No she couldn't be. She refused to believe that. She couldn't! Because that meant… 

"RUBY!" Yang sobbed, face to the ground as her fists slammed against the cold concrete. Blake pulled Yang into a tight hug, trying her best to comfort her, but it wasn't effective since she couldn't even control the amount of tears that were falling down her cheeks.

"It wasn't supposed to be this way…" Weiss cried, leaning her forehead against the other, tears dripping down her face. "You were supposed to be by my side… you promised…!" She started to laugh. "You…! Today out of all days you chose to break a promise?! We didn't even get to talk about what happened in the bathroom!! You fucking dolt!!" She continued to sob. "You dolt…"

The pain in her chest became unbearable as she hugged the body of her partner, her leader, the youngest and bravest huntress that ever lived. She had everything set up for her, for her to succeed and fulfill her wishes and desires, but she gave that up to help her out when she knew she was unmatched. That part Weiss didn't understand. Now, she doesn't have the chance to ask her why. 

Winter and the Atlas Military made their way to the back of the academy minutes after Cinder's defeat and brought Cinder in as well as Neopolitan, placing them in solitary confinement under the school. They also offered to take Ruby's body and to prepare it for a proper funeral, but the rest of the team refused to let her go until Jaune and the others convinced them otherwise. It was a sad day for everyone in Atlas Academy. They couldn't believe the energetic girl that fought in the Vytal tournament was now gone. But her memory lived on in every single one of them. 

She promised she'd stay, right? 


	2. I Promised I'd Stay, right? (Alternate Ending)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes I have decided to do the alternate HAPPY ending. Couldn't help myself to write more angst.
> 
> This starts off when Ruby shoots Cinder in the arm after Myrtenaster is broken.

What did I tell you?” Cinder chuckled. “You’re no match for me little girl,” She strutted towards the fallen girl, her Grimm arm stretching towards her. Weiss started crawling away, her heart racing, fear racing through her body. This was it… This is where she dies… 

A gunshot was fired followed by a pained scream from the older maiden. She clutched her grimm arm, which now had a hole through the palm of her hand, before looking in the direction where the bullet came from. Cinder scowled, recognizing the bundle of red that was kneeling on the edge.

“Leave her alone!!” Ruby yelled from afar as she rapidly fired her sniper rifle at Cinder. The Maiden let out an angry scream, eyes burning with rage as she charged towards the crimsonette.

"Ruby, no!" Weiss screamed but it was too late. Cinder had already flown up the building and engaged in battle with the scythe wielder. She saw how Ruby swung her scythe at Cinder and how she quickly dodged the fireballs with her semblance, but she knew that she wouldn't last long. If she, an actual maiden with magic, couldn't last against Cinder then there's no way Ruby would last even a minute. So, she had to think of something fast. 

Weiss grabbed the pieces of Myrtenaster and inspected the damage done to it. The cut was clean so it could be easily fixed by a blacksmith, but there was no way she was going to abandon Ruby just to get her rapier fixed. So, a temporary solution had to do. She could always freeze the two parts together, but the ice bond would probably melt with Cinder's fire magic. Maybe she could make a sword out of scratch like Cinder did… yeah that could work. But she didn't know how to make swords out of scratch. Did she have to just imagine the kind of sword? Or did she have to grab materials for it?

Oh how she missed being normal…

Weiss was brought out of her thoughts when she heard a loud explosion accompanied by a high-pitched scream. "Ruby!" She screamed, dropping Myrtenaster and running towards the building.  _ This can't be happening. This cannot be happening! _ Weiss thought.  _ I can't lose her. I can't! _

Ruby tumbled to the ground, dropping Crescent Rose before gripping her abdomen. Her aura flickered lightly before shattering. This was it, the end… but she had to get up. She had to fight. Fight to protect her team; for Blake, Yang, Weiss… she couldn't give up. 

"So this is how the Rose falls," Cinder said with a smirk. "Too bad. I was hoping to have more fun with you,"

"T- then why don't you?" Ruby asked, wincing as she got on her knees. 

"Unfortunately, I was asked to keep you alive," she growled. "But you know how life is, right? Accidents happen," She smirked, her sword growing bigger and now scraping the ground. 

"Get away from her!!" Weiss yells ferociously, her eyes glowing a bright blue as she climbed the edge of the ground. The silverette immediately tackled the ravenette, pinning her to the ground before knocking away the sword from her grasp. She didn’t know where this sudden strength came from and she didn’t care. Okay maybe she did deep down, but finding out if this strength was a side effect of the Maiden powers or just her own backed up by adrenaline wasn't important. What was important at that exact moment in time was keeping Ruby safe. But why? 

“Why you-!” Cinder said, knocking her head back before bringing it forward for a head bump. Weiss leaned back and was ready to pin Cinder back down before anything could happen, but Cinder pulled out of her grasp and managed to throw a hard punch at the silverette, knocking her off. Cinder smiled, grabbing the inexperienced maiden by the neck before lifting her up from the ground. “Nice try, Schnee,”

“Weiss!” Ruby screamed getting on one knee before she tumbled back down. 

“D- don’t–” She breathed, only causing the hand constrict around her neck.

“Don’t what? Don’t watch me die?” Cinder laughs. “Oh you underestimate me. She’ll watch you die like she did with that other girl on Beacon. What was her name? Pyrrha Nikos?”

“P- Pyrrha…” Ruby silently cried, fisting the ground hard as she remembered that gruesome night. She had just climbed up the tower with the help of Weiss, and before she could do anything, she saw Cinder herself place a hand on her friend’s cheek before she turned into ash and blew away with the wind. Ruby couldn’t believe it then… she couldn’t believe it now… that she’ll watch her partner, no her best friend, no that’s not right either… 

“Too bad Ms. Schnee has to suffer the same fate,” Cinder continued, her Grimm hand raising to touch the young maiden. “Well, not really. Pyrrha didn’t suffer what she’s going to suffer now,”

“N- no…” Weiss managed to say, oxygen being denied from her lungs as she tried to breathe in. She couldn’t die. Not yet. Not in front of her partner, no, her best friend… That doesn’t sound right… 

“You should’ve died back at Haven” Ruby heard Cinder say which made her blood boil. She remembered waking up to Jaune hovering over Weiss, his newly found semblance returning her to good health. She didn’t know that Weiss was pierced through with a javelin. She didn't know Cinder was going to take the opportunity to become even more monstrous. But she knew one thing. She was angry. Angry because she wasn’t there to save Weiss. Angry because she was too weak to help Yang. Angry that she wasn’t fast enough to save Pyrrha. But now, she’s gotten faster, she’s gotten stronger, and she was definitely not missing out on life with Weiss by her side. Not this time around. 

“GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF HER!” Ruby yelled, a bright white light shining from her silver eyes engulfed the roof. 

“NO!” Cinder yells as she is engulfed by the pure light, her Grimm arm disintegrating as Weiss fell to the ground. She stumbled back, gripping her left shoulder screaming bloody murder as the crimsonette huffed for air, strength now gone from her body. She watched her partner gasp for air, gaining back the pink flush in her cheeks. All she could do was smile because her friend was safe… that title doesn’t suit Weiss anymore though. Weiss was more than a friend. She was family in more ways than one. She was-

“Ruby watch out!!” Weiss warned as a small rapier-like sword was unsheathed by a small woman. Ruby was confused. Why did Weiss look scared? Her question was finally answered when she felt a sharp pain in her chest. She glanced down and saw a blade had pierced her from behind. She couldn’t believe it. She was angry because she couldn’t save Weiss from being stabbed at Haven, and now after she saved Weiss here in Atlas she was stabbed. 

“RUBY!!” The silverette yelled, crawling on the cold hard ground towards her partner who laid a couple of feet ahead.

“I tried to warn her,” Cinder chuckled, her Grimm arm now fully grown as she swung the Relic of Knowledge on her finger, watching the girl struggle her way towards her soon-to-be dead partner. “There was no way she was going to beat me again,” 

“Ruby!” She cried, pulling her close and checking for a sign of life. There was just a faint pulse, but she doubted it would last for long with her injuries; cuts and bruises all over her body as well as the deep stab wound in her chest. It was horrible, she was horrible… 

The small girl next to the maiden, Neopolitan, tapped the taller maiden before making crying motions with her hands as she smiled. Cinder laughed, clipping the lamp to her belt before speaking. “I know. Who knew the Ice Queen had a heart,”

The Ice Queen did have heart, however, and that heart belonged to her team, to her partner, to her… 

"Don't worry Ruby…" she whispered, running her thumb on the girl's cheek before placing a small peck. "I won't let you down… I promised to be the best partner you'll ever have, right…?" She smiled, grasping her hand tightly as her tears slowly washed the blood off the other's face. "Cinder may have taken you from me, but she's not taking me away from you…" 

"I'm getting bored of all this sappy stuff," The maiden said, turning to meet her partner in crime. "You wouldn't mind staining your hands with royal blood, right?"

Neo smirks, twirling the parasol around her finger as she strutted her way towards the silverette. However, the other had different plans.

"Like that's gonna happen," she hissed, standing up strong, clenching her fists. "She promised she'd stay… she promised she'd stay with me until the end but you made her break that promise!! Now, I'm gonna break you!"

A sudden burst of energy and magic was released into the atmosphere as Weiss charged at the villain duo. Neo angrily sneered and charged as well, her parasol ready to strike, but Weiss was already one step ahead. She subconsciously summoned a sword made of pure ice and swung it at Neo, sending a cold blast of snow that froze the ground and the woman. 

Cinder gasped before growling, charging at the inexperienced maiden with a magic sword of her own. "Give me the powers!" She yelled, swinging at Weiss. "You don't deserve them!!"

"And neither do you!" Weiss replied back, parrying the strike. She summons another blade in her right and strikes the chest, sending Cinder back a couple of feet. Cinder managed to regain her balance but was soon thrown back to the ground by Weiss' undercut strike. 

Cinder couldn't believe it. She was being thrown around by a Schnee, the same Schnee that was at death's door a few months ago, the same Schnee that had fled when Beacon fell. When did the weak Schnee she saw at the Vytal tournament trade places with this strong woman? 

Before Weiss could strike the ground and shatter her aura, Cinder rolled away and quickly got up, panting heavily. 

"No!! This isn't how it's supposed to be! No no no no no no no!!" Cinder screams, letting out a blast of energy before shooting it out to the silverette. Weiss took a deep breath and focused all of her energy in her body to the palm of her hands, where magic was also released. Both Maidens were now battling it out in a battle of stamina and strength; where one would either get burned alive or frozen. Neither of the two women were going to give up easily, but Weiss’ strength didn’t even come close to Cinder’s.

“Just give up, Schnee!” Cinder yelled. “You don’t deserve those magic powers!”

“A- and you do?!” Weiss asked, being pushed back a couple of centimeters. 

“I was destined to have these powers! I was destined to win!” She took a step forward, pushing Weiss back a couple of inches. “You have no idea what it feels like to be powerless! To crave anything and everything! You had everything you wanted at your fingertips! You could never understand this world’s struggle, you spoiled heiress!!”

Cinder was right. Weiss didn’t know how it felt to be powerless. She had an entire mansion staff to order around at her fingertips, she had an entire company she could’ve taken over… Could’ve. She gave up that right when she decided to go to Mystral, when she decided to reunite with her team, when she preferred happiness over money and selfishness. She didn’t know how it felt to be powerless, but she did know how it felt to not be loved, and she didn’t like it. Now she has an actual family that loves her, cares for her, stays by her side… and she wasn’t going to let that go.

“Wrong!” Weiss screamed, taking a step forward and pushing Cinder back a couple of centimeters. “All I had was money! I didn’t have parents who loved me! I didn’t have control over my own life! But now,” Weiss summoned a gravity glyph behind Cinder which forced the more experienced maiden to fly backwards and rickochet to the ground. "I have everything that I wanted," 

Cinder huffed heavily, trying her best to not fall on her knees. "oh yeah? What's better than power?"

"Family!" Blake and Yang yelled, Blake throwing the gun end of Gambol Shroud at Cinder and pulling on her end as it tied around the maiden's waist. 

"What?! How?!" Cinder gasped, Blake pulling on the ribbon again causing her to fly back to the ground. 

"Yang!" The faunus yelled, the blonde sprinting towards the fallen maiden. Cinder quickly got up and dodged the charging blonde, who crashed into the exhausted silverette, leaving Blake to deal with Cinder's frantic attacks. 

"She's mine!!" Cinder yelled hysterically, slashing at Blake with a small blade. "You can't have her!"

"I won't let you take her!" Blake said, using one of her shadow clones mixed with fire dust to jump out of Cinder's elastic Grimm hand. Cinder let out a sharp shrill as her Grimm hand set fire. She growled loudly and threw a fire shard at Blake, impaling her right forearm. 

"Blake!" Yang screamed before growling. She'd had enough. First, Cinder dared to attack her friends for a damn useless relic. Next, she attacked and almost killed her sister. Now, she's injuring her partner and gives no fuck about her life?! What is wrong with this woman?!

"I knew I should've killed you all at Beacon!!" Cinder screamed, wincing as the fire died out. "You were all weak as lambs! Easy targets!"

"We were children!" Yang replied. "Still growing up and finding our own paths in life!"

"You were all just useless victims of a bigger plan," Cinder chuckled. "you still are. Do you think all of this will be over if you kill me? Not a chance! This is only the beginning of something bigger! Something better! Something-"

"Something completely insane!" Weiss jumped in, breathing heavily. "don't you see the chaos around us?! Are you willing to live in a world like this with Salem leading us?!" 

"It's better than living in this world powerless! Defenseless!" 

"But that's what huntsmen and Huntresses are for!" Blake said, removing the shard from her arm and throwing it to the side. "we're here to make sure you live a full life without the worry of Grimm coming in and killing you!"

"They're going to do that anyway!" Cinder replied. "especially when she comes," Cinder lets out a small chuckle which transforms into hysterical laughter. "Oh the destruction that will reign over all of Remnant. And you can't do anything to stop it. Guess you're all useless after all,"

"We're not useless," Ruby said in between her labored breathing, her left holding onto her abdomen as her right held Crescent Rose in it's scythe form. She leaned against the large weapon and stared down at the Fall Maiden, whose face turned pale as snow. "We just… we just haven't found our place in the big picture yet,"

"Y- you're supposed to be dead!!" Cinder gasped. "Y- you're supposed to be reuniting with the Brothers!"

"The Brothers can wait," Ruby stood tall, revealing her wound frozen over with ice. Cinder looked at Weiss who gave off a playful smirk. "I got more important things to deal with," 

"When did you…" then it clicked. Weiss crawled to Ruby and basically ran her hands through her body to look for signs of life. That's when she… "Oh you sneaky little piece of shit…!" 

"Now Nora!" 

"This is for Pyrrha you bitch!!" Nora yelled as she slammed her hammer against Cinder's back, sending her flying towards Yang. Before Cinder could react, she felt herself get punched in the stomach by Yang's prosthetic, catching a glimpse of her bloody red orange eyes. She flew back into an ice wall that Weiss created, breaking through it as her aura shattered. She couldn't believe it. She was being beaten by a bunch of kids… after all she's done to be where she was now, all the people she had to kill to get here, was all in vain because she was being thrown around as a ragdoll. 

When she gets her hands on them…

Cinder landed hard on the ground, back against the concrete of the rooftop. She couldn't move. As much as she wanted to move, she didn't have any strength left to fight. Oh how she hated being left feeling powerless like a child. She didn't like it one bit. But what could she do? Go all out and kill them all with the last of her Maiden magic? 

That didn't sound like a bad idea.

Before Cinder could act out her plan, she felt a sharp pain where her left bicep should be. She looked to her left and saw a white blade cut through her arm. She recognized that white blade. 

"That was for Pyrrha and everyone else you killed, you son of a bitch," he spat. Then he raised his sword and aimed the tip over her heart. "And this is payback!" 

"Jaune stop!" Everyone yelled as he dove his sword straight down, but was soon stopped by Ruby's weak hands. 

"Jaune," Ruby said, looking into his eyes. "This isn't what Pyrrha would've wanted; you, staining your hands with blood. That's not a good look on you," 

Jaune sniffed, his whole body shaking and his face wet with tears. Ruby carefully grabbed the handle of the sword and slowly removed it from his hands, throwing it far away before giving him a reassuring smile. 

Cinder saw this as an opportunity to strike, so she took this opening and got up on her feet with quick motion and prepared to jump the two leaders, but Ruby thought ahead. She pushed Jaune to the side and sped towards Cinder, splitting in two and regrouping behind her before pulling out what was left of Myrtenaster and impaling her from behind. Everyone froze. Cinder froze. She couldn't even dare look down at what had happened. She already felt the pain of losing to Ruby Rose, this now being the second time. Not like she was keeping count anyway. 

"Payback is a bitch, isn't it? Well that's what you get for killing one of my friends and stabbing my partner," Ruby said, removing the blade from her body. She didn't even flinch when she heard Cinder's body fall to the ground. She held onto Myrtenaster so hard that the blade was cutting through her palm, blood getting all over it, not that it was already stained with it. "Next time, think twice on who you mess with, because nobody messes with Team RWBY!! YOU HEAR ME?!"

"Ruby…" Ruby flinched as she felt a hand land on her left shoulder. She turned her head and saw that the hand belonged to her sister, who looked at her somberly, but also proudly. Sure she didn't have to go down low to teach Cinder that lesson, but it felt refreshing getting all that bottled-up anger released.

Ruby let out a small chuckle, tears already falling. "I messed up big time, didn't I…?" She asked, wiping her face with the back of her hand.

"Not necessarily," Blake said, joining Yang's side as she gripped her arm. "You're not the first one to do something this rash," 

"This happens to the best of us," Weiss added, walking up to Ruby's right. She looks down and gently grabs Ruby's hand and pries it open, taking away her broken blade and replacing it with her hand. "Even if we don't want it to," She squeezed it hard, reassuring the crimsonette that she didn't mind the little blood. She was already stained with it anyway. 

Ruby looked down at the hand and smiled. Even after all this, Weiss was still by her side and automatically making her feel better. "Yeah…" she said, looking up at Weiss with a bright smile. 

"Now, let's make this more easier for the Atlas Military to clean up," Weiss said, extending her hand out to Cinder and releasing a small pulse of magic and freezing the woman in front of them. "There. That's better,"

"So…" Yang turned her gaze from Cinder to Weiss. "you're fully an Ice Queen, huh?"

"I guess you can think of it that way. Although, I would like it if you didn't call me that," Everyone laughs. 

"Oh I'm definitely calling you that, Ice Queen" Nora said, earning a small groan from the silverette. 

"Nora," Ren sighed.

"What?"

"So… you're the new Winter Maiden?" Jaune asked, Weiss nodding in response. "that's… wow,"

"I know right?" Ruby said, wrapping her arm around Weiss' shoulder. "My partner is now officially the  _ coolest _ partner in the history of partners," she snickered as everyone else groaned. 

"Nice one, sis," Yang said as she high-fived her sister. 

"How about we go inside and get a little rest?" Blake suggested, yawning.

"A little? I can sleep for an entire day!"

"Right back at ya sister," Nora said, resting her head on Ren's shoulder. 

"A day? I can sleep for a week!" Ruby said, now putting all her weight in Weiss. 

"Well no duh! Have you seen your injuries?!" Weiss said.

"They're not that bad,"

"Not that bad?!" Everyone shouts. 

"You basically got stabbed!!" Yang screamed. 

"By Neo's parasol!" Jaune added 

"And you just walked it off like nothing happened!" Nora added. "Like damn girl! You got strength!"

"Heh… thanks?" Ruby blushed. "b- but I have to thank Weiss for the last one. If she hadn't patched up my wound, I wouldn't be here," She said, smiling at her partner.

"I would've done what any sensible person would've done!" Weiss said, a small blush rising on her cheeks. "Although, don't get used to this. I will let you bleed out if you put yourself into this much danger again,"

"Pfft! You wouldn't do that!" 

"Try me," 

"I wouldn't try her, Ruby," Yang said, helping Weiss with Ruby by slinging Ruby's other arm across her shoulder. "she sounds serious,"

"Oh please!" Ruby playfully scoffed. "Like I should take that empty threat seriously. She knows I know how to break her walls," Blake and Jaune snickered as Yang and Nora break down into loud laughter. "What? Was it something I said?"

"You… you idiot!" Weiss said, covering her red blushing face with her hand. "you need to learn about phrasing, Ruby!!"

"What? But I didn't say anything wrong!"

"I'll explain it to you when you're older," Yang giggled, helping her sister walk over to the roof access exit. 

"No do it now so that she can avoid starting this very awkward situation again in the future!" Weiss demanded. 

"Nah. Let me have some fun with this," she smirked as Weiss' blushed to the color of her partner's tattered cape.

"Yang Xiao Long! You dirty rascal!" Everyone broke down into laughter, with the exception of the very confused Ruby and the very flustered Weiss. Even after all that had occurred, they still managed to find light hidden under all the darkness. Let's just hope this doesn't happen again.

\---

The Atlas Military apprehended Cinder and Neo, who were still frozen in their own icy prison, and placed them deep in Atlas's Solitary Confinement sector under the school. Ironwood, after getting fully debriefed by both huntsman teams, let Team JNR and Team RWBY take the rest of the week off to recover from such injuries. That news was music to everyone's ears. 

“Woo baby!” Yang cheered as she jumped onto Blake’s bed with Blake already in it, the faunus groaning loudly at the extra weight. “Is this the life or what?” Yang waited for a response from her partner, but all she could hear was Blake’s light snore. “Blake?” 

“Looks like she’s taking this break seriously,” Ruby giggled as she slowly made her way from the bathroom to her bed. Both teams were ordered by General Ironwood to go to the Infirmary and get healed, but both teams veered off into their rooms to rest. Besides, they had Jaune to restore their aura and bring them back to health, Ruby especially. It was awkward at first, since Jaune had done the same to Weiss back at Haven, but he was just as happy to help his friend in need who wasn’t dying in his arms. Her wound was closed up but not fully healed since it left a big (but smooth) scar on her abdomen, so as a precaution, they decided to wrap a bandage around the wound much to the young girl’s dismay. It still hurt like a bitch, but she wasn’t bleeding or anything.

“Maybe we should follow Blake’s example and all go to sleep,” Weiss said, turning to Yang. “In our ow beds,” 

“Aww… You’re no fun,” Yang pouts as she got out of the bottom bunker and made her way to her top bunk. 

“Sorry to be a party pooper,” Ruby giggled at her partner’s words and slowly climbed up the ladder to her bed, but she barely made it halfway before hissing and wincing in pain. This brought Weiss’ attention from Yang to the crimsonette, who tried to play it off. 

“And what do you think you’re doing?” Weiss asked, her hands on her hips. 

“Uhm… to bed like you asked?” Ruby replied with an innocent smile. 

“We specifically asked you to not do any physical activity other than walking!” 

“It's just climbing up the ladder, Weiss,” she replied as she continued to climb the steps. “ It’s not a big–” she winces at the sharp pain she felt in her abdomen that popped up when she took her last step.  _ Ah damn it… _

“Not a big deal? It seems like a very big deal!”

“Weiss–” 

“Don’t ‘Weiss’ me, Ruby. You’re sleeping in by bed until further notice,” Yang snickers. “What’s so funny?”

“You’re inviting her to sleep with you, Weiss,” Yang giggled. “You didn’t even take her out to dinner yet,” 

Weiss blushes. "That's not what I meant, Xiao Long!" 

"But it sounded like you did," 

"Why you-"

"I- I don't mind switching," Ruby said with a faint blush. "if it makes her happy and stops her from screaming into our ears, I don't mind," 

“Aww! That’s so cute! What’s next? You’re going to cuddle with her to make her less cranky?” Yang teased only to quickly dodge an ice shard that was thrown by Weiss. “Hey! You almost killed me!"

“Did I? Oh no! I was trying to shut you up,” Weiss said sarcastically, earning a small giggle from Ruby. 

“By throwing a knife at my face?!”

“I mean, you punch people for a living, so I thought it was appropriate,” She smirked.

“Oh ho, this is war, Schnee,” Yang smirked as she laid down on her bed.

“And war this will be,” Weiss chuckled. She turned around and saw that Ruby had managed to get down the ladder and on to her bed. Despite being in a foreign bed, Ruby was already getting comfortable as if it was her own. “It hasn’t even been a minute and you already messed up my bed?!”

“It’s my bed now,” Ruby giggled. “You said so yourself,” 

“I said you can sleep on my bed until you feel better. Not forever,”

“Yeah! Exactly!” Weiss groans and shakes her head before smiling at the crimsonette. 

“Alright then. Don’t get too comfortable,” She said as she made her way to the ladder and started climbing. 

“Weiss wait!” Ruby said quickly, drawing the attention of the silverette. 

“What now, Ruby?”

“We… We still need to talk about what happened in the bathroom…” Ruby said quietly so that her sister wouldn’t hear. 

“About wha– Oh!” Weiss blushed. She had totally forgotten about what happened in the bathroom. Who could blame her? She has been through a lot in the past couple of hours: became a person with magic, was hunted down by another person with magic, saw her partner get stabbed, saw her teammates fight her battle, the list goes on and on. All she wanted to do was sleep. “Can’t it wait till morning?” 

“It could, but…” the crimsonette let out a small whimper. “... But I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep with this thought still on my mind…”

Weiss lets out a small sigh. In all honesty, her body felt tired, but there was no way her mind was going to let her sleep now that the memory of having Ruby in between her legs and her hands roaming through her hair and now slowly making their way to–

Yeah she needed to talk about this now. 

“A- Alright…” She said, climbing down the steps and sitting at the edge of her bed. Ruby tried to sit up, but she kept hissing at the pain in her chest. “Lay down. I’ll lay down with you,” She mumbled as Ruby nods and lays back down. She takes a deep breath and moves next to Ruby before laying fully on her bed. It wasn’t the first time they laid down in the same place together, but this time it felt very different and awkward with those feelings of love and lust lingering in the air. 

“So…”

“So…” Weiss cleared her throat. “The bathroom thing…” 

“Did you–”

“I didn’t know what I was doing Ruby,” Weiss spoke first. “I- I… I never felt that vulnerable since my father…” She paused for a second and placed her hand on her cheek, remembering the charity event her father threw that ended up a disaster because of her. Because she… She continued, saying, “I know this isn’t an excuse for basically forcing you to be near me, but for a long time now I’ve been feeling more safer around Yang, Blake, you. Especially you. For once I felt loved. A- and with you, I feel like there’s more. I- its like–”

“The way you felt for Neptune back at Beacon?” Ruby asked.

“Yes! I- I mean no! I mean…” She sighs. “Neptune was… different. I was attracted to him, but it was only a fling. With you…”

“Weiss,” Ruby said, shifting to her side. “Look at me,”

Weiss shifted to her side to look at the crimsonette, and before she could speak she felt something press against her lips, her lips. Ruby gently kissed Weiss before retreating, a bright blush on her cheeks which doesn’t compare to Weiss’ beat red face. 

“I- I know what you mean, Weiss, a- about never feeling this way before,” Ruby said as she fidgeted with the blanket covering her. “I- I’ve never been in love before nor ever wanted to be in a relationship because I feared that they would leave me like how my mother did…”

“Ruby…” 

“A- and you almost did back at Haven. You got stabbed and you almost died if it weren’t for Jaune and his semblance, a- and I owe him everything for saving you because I don’t know what I would do without you. Now I don’t know if you feel the same way I do, and it's okay if you don’t. I can live with you not feeling the same. The only reason why I’m telling you this is because I just wanted you to know as my partner, as my friend,” Ruby finished her ramble with a small sweet smile, the same smile that was capable of melting Weiss’ heart. 

And it did. 

Weiss laid there, eyes full of tears threatening to fall. She leaned in and kissed Ruby before pulling her into a tight hug, because Ruby exactly knew how she felt. Weiss felt scared because, for once in her entire life, she was in the dark about feeling in love. Of course there was the thing with Neptune, but it was nowhere near as close or near as strong as her feelings for Ruby. She also didn’t like the fact of living without Ruby, and if she hadn’t saved her, that would’ve been her new reality. Living without Ruby would be uneventful, depressing, terrifying. She’s just glad that she didn’t have to worry about not having Ruby around. Because she promised she’d stay, right?

“Are you okay?” Ruby asked, roaming her fingers through her hair. Weiss nods, burying her face into her chest. “I’m guessing you want to sleep here tonight? I don’t mind if you do,” Weiss nods again, loosening her grip around Ruby as the crimsonette shifted back to where her back was flat against the mattress. She leaned her head against the other’s chest, listening close to her heartbeat as Ruby pulled the blanket over them both. 

“Ruby…?” Weiss whispered.

“Yeah?” 

“You promise you’ll stay, right?”

“Yeah. I promise,”

“Good…” Weiss made herself comfortable in Ruby’s arms that wrapped around her waist. “Cause I don’t want to lose you…”

“I don’t want to lose you too,” Ruby whispered back, placing a soft kiss on her head. “Night, Weiss,”

“Goodnight, Ruby,”

“Goodnight Yang,” They both said to the blonde that had listened to the entire conversation.

“Aww… I thought you didn’t notice…” She pouted before smiling. “Goodnight you two, and don’t do what I would do,” All she got back was a small chuckle from her sister before the room was engulfed in silence. Yang didn’t mind being in silence, because now she had the chance to think to herself. She almost lost her sister today to Cinder, and now she owes everything to Weiss, not that she minded of course. She was her teammate after all.  _ Sister-in-law is more like it, _ Yang thought to herself, and that sentence made her proud. Why? Because she didn’t have to worry about losing her sister ever again. Why?

Cause she promised she’d stay, for as long as they live. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's that! Did you like it? I hope you did. Because I loved writing it! Will there be more stories like this in the future? Maybe. Depends on how frequent I feel soon writing. 
> 
> also can we talk about Ruby's dark turn? The reason why I went with that is to show how much anger Ruby had because of the guilt she felt for not being able to save Pyrrha and prevent Weiss from being stabbed. You can see it in her eyes during episode 11 of season 7, all that anger when she saw the chess piece. It couldn't be just me. 
> 
> Anyway, this is it! See you all next time!
> 
> \- Eli

**Author's Note:**

> Angst right? I'm sorry! Really I am! I wanted to keep Ruby alive but... Dead Ruby just seemed right. I may write an ending where she lives, key word MAY, and I also MAY right a continuation chapter. Not sure, but with this COVID-19 threat keeping us indoors, its more likely I will. But no promises! 
> 
> Until next time!


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